I finally made figolli!

Figolli, for my foreign readers are like these big biscuity pies filled with an almond paste covered in glacé and royal icing or chocolate.

And they are a bitch to make. I made them with my mum once when I was twelve. First you need to make biscuit dough, then the filling. Then you cut out identically shapes, put the filling in between and bake for 20 mins. They are also extremely fragile. I remember my mum and i gave them a slightly Canadian twist, covering them in buttercream and squirting Hershey’s chocolate on them.

I have been working non-stop lately and decided to take a random day off. Now, since my days off are usually planned, these days end up being jam-packed with activity leaving me breathless and exhausted. However, since this day was unprecedented I found myself oddly having nothing to do.

So I had a brain wave. Why not try my hand at figolli? After all, it is the season for them. How hard could it be?

I made everything from scratch and by hand. EVERYTHING. Didn’t touch my kenwood or my electric mixer.

This is the dough

This is the filling:

The result before decorating:

And after:

However, the one I’m particularly proud of is this one:

It was meant to be a car but the exhaust pipe broke…on its side it kind of looked like a kitty so I thought I can make a small disaster into a small and adorable triumph. The whole process took me a good 6hrs.

What have I learnt:

1) when I’m focused and in the zone, nothing can stop me. I skipped lunch. I didn’t even pee, and I have a bladder the size of a strawberry.

2) respect to those who make figolli for a living. It’s a laborious and intricate task.

3) be appreciative of anyone who gifts you with a figolla, handmade or not. Making them is exhausting.